Cleaning-machine.



A. A. LONG. CLEANING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 7, 1910.

1,063,559. Patented June 3, 1913.

UNITED STATES r igENtr oFFIoE.

ADAM A. LONG, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR'TO THE TAILORSACCESSORIES 00., OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CLEANING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 3, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADAM A. LONG, of Rochester, in the county of Monroeand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Cleaning-Ma.- chines; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull. clear, and exact description of the same. reference being had tothe, accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification. and tothe reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present'invention relates to cleaning machines and ithas for itsobject to provide a simple and efficient device of this nature whichwill be particularly adapted for cleaning cloth, garments, etc., and forits fin-then object to treat such fabrics in a manner that will leavethem not only clean but with a smooth and pleasing finish.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for takingcare of the dirt and dust extracted.

The improvements are further directed toward lessening the labors of theoperator in the manipulation of the machine.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvementsand combinations of partsall as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in specification.

In the'drawings: Figure 1 is a side view of a machine constructed inaccordance with and illustrating one embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2is a front view; Fig. 3 is a section on the line (4-54 of Fig. 1, andFig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the casing by which the brushis carried.

The present embodiment of the invention has been designed for cleaningcloth 9r clothes made from cloth, but it is apparent that it containsfeatures which may be embodied in various types of cleaning machines.The work to be cleaned may be arranged. on a support or table and actedupon by an agitator-.2 which in this instance is in the form of a rotarybrush partially inclosed by a casing 3, the brush being preferablycarried by a shaft et journaled in the casing walls and extended at oneend beyond one of said walls to turn in bearings 5 and 5 arrangedwithina tubular member 6. The latter may be secured to and held inspaced relation to the casing 23 by brackets 7 that are boltedat 8 tosaid casing, the axial the claims at the end of themovement of the shaft4 in the tubular member being prevented by securing a disk 9 thereto atone end' so as to cooperate with the outer foce of the bearing 5*. Thisdisk may also be engaged by a screw plug 10 introduced into the end ofthe tubular member 6 and preferably carrying an oil cup 11 which feedsoil to the disk for the lubrication of the bearing 5, the bearing 5being lubricated by a cup 12. The tubular member 6 preferably serves asa handle for the control of the brush or agitator and may be incased bya rubber sleeve 13 and a removable rubber cap 14, both of whichfacilitate the manipulation of the machine and at the same time preventoil passing from the end of the tubular member.

The driving ofthe brush or agitator 2 and the suspension thereof arepreferably effected by an endless cable 15 which passes about a pulley16 rigidly secured to the shaft 4 between the casing 3 and the tubularmember 6, the cable preferably being driven and arranged in the mannershown and described in my prior application, Serial No. 536,087, filedJanuary 3, 1910 whereby it supports the weight of the brush machinethough permitting free movement thereof throughout a considerableradius. The pulley 1t and the adjacent guiding pulleys hereinafterreferred to are so arranged that the machine is supported by the belt ina balanced position, one part being a counterweight for another and verylittle effort is therefore required on the part of the operator with hisgrasp on the handle to manipulate the brush to any desired spot withinreach or at any desired angle or with any desired pressure against theWork.

The brush may be supported in its inoperative position upon a devicecomprising two spring arms 16 suitably supported and having theirforward ends converging at 17 to facilitate their introduction through aloop 18 formed on the casing 3 inclosing the brush. An adjustable stop19 may be arranged on the arms to limit the movement of the casing onthe arms 16.

\Vhile the brush is supported in inoperative position with the preferreddriving ar-' rangements of the cable 15, the latter is slack andconsequently it is desirable to provide some means to prevent the cableleaving the pulley 16. This is accomplished in -t-his instance by a pairof pulleys 20 cooperating with the outer sides of the two strands. ofthe cable and preferably carried upon a movable or .swinging member 21.which may be journaled on the tubular portion 6 to turn about an axisconcentric with the axis of shaft 4;, thus permitting the brush to becarried to either end of the table without imposing any strain on thecable. To prevent the swinging member from moving too freely, a frictionmember 22 in the form of a plate guided on headed studs 23 may bepressed. toward the swinging mem-. her by helical springs 24.surrounding said studs, stops 25 projecting into the path of theswinging member at the limits of the movement of the latter. Theswinging member 21 may also carry a pin 39 which lies between the twostrands of the cable and prevents the latter from leaving the pulleys20.

For the purpose of removing the dust agitated by the brush-2, the casing3 surrounding the brush is provided with a passageway 26 having anintake arranged at its bottom and to one side of the brush. The outerwall 27 of the intake depends lower than the inner wall 28 so that thedust may enter freely into the passageway but will be prevented frombeing carried beneath the casing. In order that all possibility of thelatter action may be obviated, the wall 27 carries a depending flexiblestrip 27 which provides a tight joint between the material being cleanedand the casing for any operating position of the machine. It is alsodesirable to control the size of the intake opening and to this end apiece of pliablesheet materialis secured to the inner wall 28 of.

the passageway and is extended upwardly therein, By moving the end 29*ofthe sheet material the opening may be varied in size to meet thecondition under which the machine is operating.

To the end of producing suction in the passageway 26 without hamperingthe movements of the machine, a flexible dust conductor or tubing 30 isconnected with Imanipulated with ease and the suction producing meansmay be located in a position where it cannot interfere with theoperation of the brush.-

I claim as my invention:

1. In a cleaning machine, the combination with a rotary brush, of acasing inclosing the brush having an intake passage formed therein, andmeans for adjusting the size of the opening of the intake passageembodying a tongue rigidly attached to one wall of the passage.

'2. In a cleaning machine, the combination with a rotary brush, of acasing inclosing the brushhaving an intake passage formed therein, andmeans foradjusting the size of the opening of the intake passageembodying a tongue of pliable material rigidly attached to one wall ofthe passage and arranged to project transversely within the passage.

3. The combination with a rotary brush, of a casing inclosing the brushhaving an intake passage formed therein, the wall of the latter inproximity to the brush being shorter than the .other wall, and a tonguecomposed of pliable material carried by the shorter wall and arranged toproject within the opening of the intake passage.

ADAM A. LONG.

Witnesses:

RUSSELL B. GRIFFITH, FLORENCE E. FRANCK.

